PROJECT DESCRIPTION

• Motivation / Goals: Lithium-ion batteries are crucial for everyday use. They are used in many electronics, power tools, small and large appliances, electric vehicles, and electrical energy storage systems. The need for lithium is massive: for example, electrification solely of the US fleet would require a 3x increase in current global production. However, the lithium price is very high and the naturally occurring lithium resource is very limited. Nearly 90% of lithium used in the US is imported from other countries, with 75% being imported from three countries: Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. With an unstable market and a growing demand, companies like OnTo Technology (Bend, Oregon) have been developing methods for reclaiming quality materials from used batteries so that lithium already in the market can be reused in meaningful ways.
• Approach: Using a patented material refurbishment process called Cathode Healing, OnTo Technology is working to resolve ongoing cost problems for the battery industry related to materials recycling. Their direct approach preserves critical materials contained in the recycled battery powder mass known as “black mass” (BAM). The process, called Cathode-Healing™, reinstates lithium transport functionality directly to the active cathode electrode material in the BAM. At Oregon State University (OSU), faculty and students on the project use a variety of diagnostic, examination, and test tools to check the effectiveness of the recycling process and ensure that the recycled electrodes are in good condition for reuse. Ideally, the “dead” battery will be regenerated so it can be used like new.

STAFFING

• Dr. Zhenxing Feng, Associate Professor, OSU – Chun-Wai Chang (PhD student), Meilani Bolding (undergraduate), and Alex Quarenghi (undergraduate)

“Funding from OMI is very important for us to support both local companies and university students working on these projects. I think sustainability is a very important issue, and also training this new generation of workforce is equally important. I’m glad that we got the support from OMI to do this exciting project that can benefit not only the people of Oregon, but also for the United States and for even the whole world.”

– Zhenxing Feng